Following is a list of my favorite breast cancer resources. I found the sites and books below to be incredibly helpful, with lots of good information delivered in a simple and clear manner. Many of them had downloadable lists of things to remember to ask your doctors (I’m a big one for lists) and many of them have personal bloggers on their sites so that you can also tap into what other survivors share.
The 4 Books That I Found To Be The Most Helpful During Breast Cancer
In addition to many reputable websites, I found these books helped guide me through the experiences I was facing as I went through my breast cancer treatments.
www.breastcancer.org
My hands down favorite breast cancer site. Easy to navigate and full of easy to access information from how to read your pathology report to how to navigate the reconstruction process.
www.dslrf.org
The Dr. Susan Love Foundation site is full of very helpful information about breast cancer, along with information about her Army of Women study which is helping researchers who are working towards finding the root cause of the disease.
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is a nonprofit committed to achieving prevention and a cure for breast cancer. They provide funding for cancer research on a worldwide level to fuel advances in tumor, biology, genetics, prevention, treatment, metastasis and survivorship.
www.areyoudense.com
Great sight for women to learn about whether or not they have dense breasts. When breasts are dense it’s harder to get a clear reading on a mammogram. Click here for one of my posts on this issue.
www.caringbridge.org
A wonderful, easy to use blog resource for anyone suffering from a long term illness. The site offers simple, user friendly blog templates where patients or families can share their progress and updates with family and friends. The site is password protected if you want to keep the information private, this is where I first started blogging, and found it to be a fabulous resource.
The National Breast Cancer Coalition
The National Breast Cancer Coalition is an organization focused on ending breast cancer. That’s my kind of advocacy.
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health (NIH). This site has information on every kind of cancer; I’ve linked it above to the specific section on breast cancer. I particularly recommend their online “What You Need To Know About Breast Cancer” booklet which has everything you’d need to know to guide you in the beginning of the diagnosis process.
Healthline
Healthline is a great online resource for many different health concerns. The site also has a section solely dedicated to breast cancer that is very well laid out, covering diagnosis through the various treatment options, and including a section on living with late stage breast cancer.
Living Beyond Breast Cancer
Living Beyond Breast Cancer is a national education and support organization that helps connect people with trusted breast cancer information and support. Once I was done with my “active” treatments such as chemo and mastectomy, I found I still needed post treatment support and I found it on this informative site.
www.komen.org
Say or think what you will about Komen, but these guys really do have a ton of information about breast cancer and it’s put together in an easy to navigate system. My favorites were the many downloadable forms with questions to bring with you to doctor’s visits, ’cause believe me, you’re going to forget all the questions you had if they’re not written down.
www.curediva
CureDiva is a personalized lifestyle solutions online shop for women facing Breast Cancer. CureDiva offers a one-of-a-kind high-end shopping and community platform that provides women at every breast cancer treatment phase with all of their lifestyle needs. I wish I’d known about this site when I was going through my own procedures as they have wonderful, helpful items to get you through chemo, surgery, mastectomy and post reconstruction, along with a wonderful community of powerful and compassionate women who will support you through the process.
Beyond the Pink Moon
Beyond the Pink Moon is a Facebook support group developed and led by the wonderful and compassionate Nicki Boscia Durlester. Nicki started the Beyond the Pink Moon Facebook group in 2010 to provide an active, private forum for women to share their questions and insights regarding breast and ovarian cancer, as well as genetic mutations increasing hereditary cancer risk, including BRCA1 and 2. I am always overwhelmed and heartened by the generous love and support that these women (the Pink Lovelies, as Nicki calls them) provide every day.